Two Souls under the MOON
by spree7101990
Summary: What happens when Kaya grapples with her growing feelings for the certain cold eyed ranger? How does Bishop deal with his feelings when he learns that he has fallen for the knight captain of Crossroads Keep? Read to find out! BishopxOC Rated M for later c
1. Chapter 1

Bishop X Kaya (oc)

Chapter one

It was in the middle of the night, or more like morning now that Kaya looked out the rock walled keep that she now called home. _Oh well, it's not like I have to do anything important tomorrow. _It was something that she had begun as a habit. Lately she was having trouble sleeping, what with all the thoughts of west harbor, Neverwinter, the Shadow King and every little detail that refused to leave her alone in the clogged atmosphere of her mind.

Instead of laying there listening to voices in her head try to make sense or argue about everything that she has done up till now, she decided to take walks around her keep. At first the guards would shoot her strange glances whenever they saw her walk past in nothing but her night shift.

But since she had gotten used to the idea of winter in the mountains, she had begun to wear her cloak and a light cotton dress, and they in turn had gotten used to her nightly ghost walks and barely moved an eyelid whenever she happened to pass by. (Though she still was barefoot.)

Her walks tended to clear her mind of every annoying thing that had decided to take permanent residence, the only real thoughts that passed through was either about the weather or the quiet peacefulness she had discovered on her walks.

She made sure that she didn't walk past any of the rooms her companions occupied, especially those who would like to escort her back to her room in the slight chance she might get a cold…..in other words she avoided the paladin's room at all costs. She tended to stray to the library often of late to read some interesting novel that Aldanon conveniently places next to her favorite stuffed leather chair near the fire place.

It had begun when she had caught the sage staying up late reading some interesting books that she had taken note of. It almost seemed as if there had been a bargain struck between them: he provided the books, and she discussed the different points of certain authors until they had chopped the contents into little pieces.

But it wasn't the library she sought out tonight; no…she wasn't really sure where she was going. Her feet just walked, and she followed. Without noticing where or how she got there, a root had "sprung" in front of her and like usually she tripped, all the while graciously falling flat on her butt. Coming back to her surrounding she realized she was now in the bordering woods that lay next to the keep.

Laughing quietly to herself she started to pull herself up onto her feet to start back towards the keep, but stopped midway when she heard a slight snapping of twigs to her right. Changing her stance so that she was crouched with her hand close to her shin where she kept an extra dagger in case of emergencies…..much like the one that presented itself to her now.

Swiveling to her right she lifted her eyes a few centimeters off the leaf covered ground where she had them in time to see a pair of boots step a little closer to the direction she was facing. Moving her hand slowly and cautiously around the hilt of the long knife, she pulled it free without making a sound.

Watching the boots continue to make their way towards her, she waited until they were a few feet from her lowered head, then with a burst of agility swung her feet around to the front and kicked. Taken by surprise the unknown individual dropped with a low hiss, and a muttered curse.

Without waiting for the intruder to make their move, Kaya bent forward again and jumped so that her knees were on either side of the prone body and her dagger hand inches away from their throat. "Hmpf, for a warlock you are pretty quick, but I guess being born an elf helps quite a bit."

Slightly surprised at the mocking edge to the voice, Kaya took her eyes off from her blade and lifted them to the disgruntled face of Bishop. _Should have known, there is only one person here skilled enough to sneak up on me without me realizing until the last second. _Even though she now knew who it was,

Kaya didn't take her dagger away from his throat and hissed "If I didn't know better Bishop I would say you make an easy target." Glaring visibly at her, he gritted between his teeth "As much as I am enjoying this situation we are in…" Shifting slightly, but not too much for fear of the blade that was inches from his artery,

Bishop lifted one foot and kicked her lightly in the middle of her back which sent her rolling off from him to the ground. "I am going to have to ask why the _knight captain _is out of her bed this late at night."

Grinning slightly in his twisted way Bishop picked himself off from the ground to stand in front of Kaya.

Doing the same so that she stood almost on equal footing with him (he would always be taller than she was) she replied "I could say the same thing about you ranger. At least I have the freedom to walk around my own keep but what reason do you have to be out here?"

Grinning again Bishop flashed an almost exasperated look in Kaya's direction "You really have to ask?" Kaya looked confused enough that Bishop let out an exasperated sigh to go with the look. "I'm a ranger, elf, and I am more comfortable out here than I am in a rock walled room.

Though, I can't complain about the tavern." Kaya nodded and began to brush off the leaves and dirt that remained on her cloak from their tumble on the ground. As she moved to sheath the dagger she noticed that Bishop was watching her with an expectant air. "What?" "I am waiting to hear why our leader is outside, in the woods, so late at night.

Since I answered your question before you had answered mine, I think it only fair if you give me the _honors_ of your explanation." Looking straight at Bishop Kaya looked for signs of a tease in his eyes, but only saw blatant curiosity. Dropping her head, Kaya mumbled "I couldn't sleep…"

Waiting for a sneer, and a sarcastic laugh, Kaya was surprised to hear neither but a sigh escape his lips. Turning around Bishop looked up into the moon that was just visible between the clustered pines, he said

"This place is always a good place to think, it can let you say whatever you want, and it still stays quiet and peaceful. Never giving a sign of anger towards anything you have to tell it." Again Kaya was forced to lift her gaze to Bishop in order to make sure that he wasn't just pulling her leg. What she saw surprised her more than any uncouth or crude thing Bishop could ever have said.

The ranger had a look in his eyes that she had never seen before, something that was sad and yet completely peaceful. _Maybe there is more to Bishop than I had first thought. _ Moving to stand beside him, she said, "It's the moon, it always watches us, shows us for what we really are. There are times when you don't even have to say anything at all and yet you get this feeling that it understands us, it forgives us for everything we have ever done and looks at us as if we had no armor. It sees our souls." Shaking his head Bishop turned to look down at the young women who had eyes only for the object of her speech.

What he saw there was someone who was utterly sad, but was forced to keep it hidden in case someone might see her falter at the wrong moment. He saw a woman who was forced to relive the horrors that she recently experienced; those that over shadow the good memories. And not be able to tell anyone in fear that they might think her weak. For once in his life Bishop actually wanted to comfort someone who wasn't related to him at all.

But he held himself back, afraid that his actions could be mistaken in her eyes as something that was unwelcome. "_Of Course_ that's what you see, you're an elf." Blinking Kaya moved to look back at Bishop but the flicker of the person she thought she saw and could relate to was gone, replaced by the cold hard look of someone who didn't care enough to bother himself in their affairs. Regretfully Kaya took a step backwards and turned around until she faced the direction of the keep. She turned her head to look back at Bishop a last time, shook her head and disappeared into the foliage.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Feinting to the left, Kaya spun on her heal and brought up her right arm so that her sword clanged with her sparring partners and clashed off. Spinning around again she twisted her wrist and tried again to catch her partner off guard, but seeing as he was a learned warrior she failed miserably.

She stopped to catch her breath but kept her eyes on the paladin and moved to the right when he lunged forward to see if she was paying attention. Hefting her sword to get a better grip on it, Kaya eyed her opponent and judged where she thought he would move next.

She shifted her feet again to gain a better balance for herself because if he moved, she could quickly dodge the blade and hope to pull a counter attack against him.

Speed was the only thing that she had going for her in this fight, since Casavir was stronger and more skilled with a long sword than she was. Distracted for a mille-second was enough to give Casavir an opening and she found herself lying on the practice dirt with her arm beneath her, her sword on the other end of the field and Casavir's sword pressed against her throat.

"Yield?" Huffing her breath out, she responded with an inaudible _no_. Hoping to take him by surprise she chanted a light eldritch blast incantation and projected it into the side of Casavir's shoulder guard which caused him to grunt with the effort of keeping himself steady.

Using this pause in concentration she pulled her knees up to her chest and kicked out with both feet at the center of his breastplate, causing him to stumble backwards in order to regain his earlier balance. Rolling to her feet she pulled out her twin daggers she kept on her thigh bands and took a fighting stance once again.

"That's cheating…" Kaya laughed lightly enjoying the exasperated look on the paladin's face and said "No its not, we didn't agree that we couldn't use our magic. Besides isn't it your fault that you forgot that I am a warlock before I'm a fighter?"

Shaking his head in response he only responded by hefting his sword over his shoulder and eyeing her stance. Clapping resounded off from the practice room's walls, and caused Kaya to take her eyes off from her opponents form to search for the source of the sound.

Standing in the corner, grinning wickedly at the two of them with an almost mischievous glint in his eyes, was Bishop. Clearly irritated at the interruption to their spar, Casavir scowled at the ranger and asked what he wanted. "Now, now I'm only looking for entertainment.

Or is that against your god's rules, _paladin_?" Grinning all the more he went on, "Actually I think the outcome of your child's play was that our dear captain has beaten you sir knight." Kaya continued to flip her daggers in her hands but stared at Bishop as he continued to speak.

"She had a fair point and I believe it's your fault for not realizing her abilities in the battlefield. Now if it were me I don't think I would have done it like you did." "Really Bishop how would you have beaten me?"

Interested in what the ranger had to say Kaya looked back at Bishop expectantly. "Well I don't think I will tell you how, since if I ever get into a fight with you I hope to have at least a minimal advantage over you." Grinning again, Bishop faced Casavir.

"You aren't at her level anyways paladin, I would just take the defeat with grace and bow to the lady and admit her victory. I'm sure if she wanted to, her spell wouldn't have just grazed your shoulder."

Scowling again Casavir turned towards Kaya again and bowed his head to her and admitted his defeat. "My lady fights very well."

Kaya nodded and decided that she wasn't going to stick around for yet another of the men's arguments that she was sure would break out any minute now. She gave both of them and fair well nod of her head and left the room before either of them could say anything.

Walking back to her suite, Kaya wondered why Bishop had decided to show himself in front of her since their meeting in the woods. In seemed to her in the week that followed their encounter he had taken special measures to make sure he avoided having eye contact with her, and going to the extreme to make sure they weren't even in the same room together.

She couldn't figure that man out, he was always sure to have some quick jabs at her after one of her countless screw-ups that happened around her, but he hadn't said one thing to her.

Her mind kept turning back to that moment when Bishop had seemed like a total different person, even when she didn't want to think about it at all. Realizing that she had stopped and was standing in front of her door, she blushed and opened it to reveal Kana waiting for her on the other side. _No privacy in this place_ she thought.

Sighing she walked over to her chest of clothing and sorted through the piles until she found a light shirt and green silk pants. Putting the clothes on the bed she turned to look at Kana expectantly, waiting to hear her news while she pulled her boots off.

"Captain the cloaks have come back from their latest mission, they reported that a group of bandits have holed themselves up in a local cave and set wards around the entrance." Kaya looked up from unlacing her boots and scowled.

"Get to the point Kana, if it's just a bandit problem send out some of our more experienced grey cloaks. This isn't something that you have to relay to me." "That's the point, my lady, I have. But they couldn't even get through the door way. We have tried to negotiate with them but they refuse to talk to us, insisting that we send you in our place instead. The men have tried everything that they could think of but nothing works. My lady if you could…"

Irritated now, Kaya grabbed her boot from where she had placed it and began to re-lace it. "Where are they?" "Who the cloaks or the bandits, my lady?" "The bandits, Kana! Why would I ask where my men are." Blushing slightly Kana ducked her head and replied that the bandits were holed up near a local village east of Crossroads Keep.

"Fine get someone to head to the kitchen and get a day's worth of food for one person and a water skin. Give me at least an hour to get ready, I want to be alone for a bit, so let no one into my room with complaints…that includes you Kana."

Blushing yet again Kana nodded and backed away towards the open door, turned and shut it behind her. _Jeez who knew Kana blushed so much…another bandit problem huh._ The bandits around the keep had dwindled down to almost nothing since Kaya had become captain here, but once in awhile some got brave and made her deal with them.

Throwing her clothes that she had just picked out back into the chest, she searched for her elvish mail coat and cloak that she kept folded at the bottom.

Grabbing them and some extra health potions from her desk nearby, Kaya stuffed them into her bag, and strapped her belt around her waist. Looking around her room again she noticed that her sword _firebite_ was missing from its usual place in the corner of her weapon rack.

Glancing around her room for any signs of it, Kaya sighed and realized she knew where she had left it and where it was right now. Which made her sigh even longer than before, she was hoping to leave without anyone noticing her.

Hefting her bag over her shoulder, she shut the door behind her and headed for the library's one secluded room. On the way she noticed that the hallway was strangely empty which had to mean only one thing: Aldanon was performing some weird experiment again…..which was not a good thing for her poor sword.

Quickening her stride a little bit, she reached to door in time to duck behind a nearby corner in order to avoid getting her hair singed from the blast that had issued from the exposed room.

Turning her head to look around the hiding place she had claimed she saw that Aldanon was walking out looking quite perplexed at the situation that had just occurred. Smiling to herself she walked over to the rather charred looking sage and offered a hand. "Oh my dear, I didn't realize you were there. Just performing a couple of observations on that peculiar sword of yours and guess what? I think it has a mind of its own since I don't think it liked being prodded at."

Laughing slightly at the old sage, she pulled him away of the burnt remains that was his office. Placing him on a nearby seat she cautiously walked into the room taking note of the many piles of ash that she presumed used to be books, and saw that her sword laid on the table amidst further charred remains.

Grinning again she picked it up and sheathed it in its scabbard that was on her belt. Sending one last glance at the destroyed remains of the office knowing that the replacements of every object would end up coming out of her own pocket, she shook she head and smiled to herself.

_What would I do without this guy?_ Leaving the room she looked to where the sage, now grumbling to himself in his chair and smiled again. "You know one of these days Vargen is going to throw you out after he finds out all the damage you are causing him to his newly refurbished keep. Though I believe even now he is looking into ways to get rid of you without upsetting me."

The sage looked up at Kaya as if he just realized she was standing there and then glanced at the sword now hanging at her side. "I still have yet to figure out how you manage to control that beast, he doesn't seem to allow anyone else to touch him but you. A most interesting specimen…yes…most interesting…"

Leaving the sage to his thoughts, for he now went back into his trance of thinking, Kaya pulled her bag onto her shoulder again and walked towards the double doors of the exit.

Pushing her weight into her arms she opened the door only to stumble backwards as she was confronted by an irritated looking Neeshka. "Where are you going? I hope for a walk in the woods because if it's anywhere interesting you need to take me with you."

Standing with her mouth slightly agape at being confronted so early in her "mission" Kaya moved to walk around Neeshka while talking over her shoulder. "Yes, I will only be gone for a day or so but it's not anything all that exciting. At least it's nothing that you need to be concerned with."

Huffing at that, the young teifling stamped her foot like a child and frowned at the elf. "You better be telling me the truth, I have been stuck her for days listening to how the dwarves as a race are superior to everyone. And the ale isn't that good to keep me listening to that for very long. I think I'm going stir crazy here."

Peeking back at the rogue, Kaya laughed and told her to speak to Kana for something to do. "Fine but if I find out you are doing something fun…well I won't let you off easily."

With that, Neeshka turned and walked back into the keep. _I hope Kana doesn't tell her where I am going, I will definitely be in trouble when I come back. _Nodding her head to the grey cloaks she passed by on the way to the road, she turned to see one of Wolf's minions holding out a package for her.

"It is the food you asked for m'lady. Kana sent me to give it to me before you left." Taking the package and pushing it into her already full bag, Kaya thanked the young girl and threw her a silver coin which made the girl yelp with excitement and run the other way.

Smiling at the reaction, she gazed around the farmland near her and set off towards the bandit cave.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Kaya had never been so tired in her life. It wasn't that she was doing anything really strenuous, but she realized traveling a distance alone probably was not the best idea.

Every time she stopped to take a break, it wasn't a _real_ break; she had to stay alert all the time looking for signs of danger. Even during the night where she would usually get at least a full night's sleep she was only getting a fourth of the sleep she should.

She reminded her self to bring at least one person with her even if she was only resting for a night. _Wait really? I am complaining? I was alone all the way from west harbor to that inn where I met Khelgar. I should be able to do this, I mean that took me two weeks to reach and I _made_ it just fine. Sure I was somewhat tired, but still I am being a baby compared to this._

She thought for a moment and came to the conclusion that she was spoiled, not everyone was lucky to have as many companions as she had, let alone more than half she could trust with her life. She needed to get back into the hang of things, or she will fail when it comes to even the simplest quests.

But coming from west harbor was different; she didn't know anything about the king of shadows, and she was preoccupied with running her own keep. Those were all excuses, Kaya had grown soft and it was something that she couldn't afford.

What happens when something goes on in the middle of the night and she isn't fully prepared? Especially when she was usually the only magic user besides Sand (she couldn't count Qara, she was a pyro and nothing else.) Sighing again she hefted her pack and looked around at her surroundings.

She was in a clearing near the place she was headed. Around her she noticed that she was surrounded by thickly grouped spruce and birch trees that formed a sort of circle, almost as if someone had carved out this particular section of the forest with a spoon.

Decided that before she made any more of her journey she was better off camping for the night and conserving what energy she had. Glancing around again she spotted a good place to build a fire to keep her warm at night and gathered nearby twigs and logs to build the campfire.

When all was in place she pulled on a part of her eldritch energy and pointed at the logs. The wood burst into flames and began to give off a warm aura that seemed to melt the cold feeling that had seeped into her bones whenever she thought about her main quest.

Taking out her bed roll from her pack she unrolled it and spread it near the fire. The closer she was to the warmth the less likely she would be attacked by an animal in the middle of the night.

Sitting down on the fur, she pulled her pack over to her and shifted through the contents that made up her bag, and pulled out the little sac that was filled with just enough food for tonight's meal and tomorrow mornings.

Kaya looked at what was left and let out yet another sigh. Bread, a lump of cheese and some dried beef. It was times like these that she wished she knew how to hunt properly; maybe she should have trained in the forest arts instead of eldritch.

Which brought her mind back to the one person she knew would have been a great help with her now; Bishop. But she wasn't so sure that she would have liked to be alone with him, not since their last encounter which still happened to set her teeth on edge.

She had made sure that she avoided him from that time forth, but she was irritated that he avoided her as much as she did.

_What reason does he have to avoid me?? I didn't do anything, I talked to him and he snapped at me…what was I supposed to say? Well actually I didn't say anything, just walked away…but hey I can't be judged here, anyone would have walked away after that. And he was finally showing me a side of him that I had never seen before._

Kaya was compelled to stay longer than she was going to that night because of what she saw, but he had turned back into that spiteful, cold hearted person. Glancing around again, she had an idea.

Searching through her pack she picked out 5 pure crystals and set them around her campsite then drew within herself the eldritch power that seemed to come so naturally. Pointing her finger she threw her power out in little threads until she had reached all 5 crystals and then moved her finger in a circular pattern and mumbled her spell under her breath.

Opening her eyes she was pleased to see that her idea had worked; Kaya was now standing in a white foggy half dome that stretched from the edges of her camp and around.

The 5 crystals told her the boundaries and she knew better than to go through the wall or the spell would fail. Grimacing as she finally felt the power it took to call forth a spell such as this, her knees buckled and her eyes closed involuntarily.

She had just enough time to pull her blanket up around her before she passed out from exhaustion.

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Bishop rose from his crouching position when he saw the elf maid fall but was relieved when he noticed it was from lack of sleep and not anything else. He was surprised that she had thought of the idea of the bubble but he knew that she wasn't safe from everything; the bubble could be penetrated by those who knew enough about counter spells…like him.

But he wasn't going to spoil his fun by having her find out that he had been following her since the beginning. Especially since he knew that her temper was on edge these days.

But he couldn't help but tease her a bit before she found out where he was. Smiling he shifted his position from her camp to look behind him and in front. No signs of any life; that bothered him more than anything else.

Frowning now he began to move from his spot to patrol around the edges of her camp and he noticed that everything was normal. But it was too quite, he lived in forests, so he knew that when he didn't hear an owl hoot or a mouse skitter across the forest floor that something was wrong.

His frown deepened as he looked back at the knight captain. Something was wrong and it wasn't because she performed magic a few minutes before. If he didn't know better he would say that another spell user was in the forest, but he knew that Kaya would have noticed the presence long before he had; she hadn't even looked like something was out of place.

Growling under his breath he stopped and listened for a few minutes…there! He had heard footsteps. Cocking his head a little he counted more than one and swore.

Moving back towards the camp he pushed through the barrier and knelt next to the elf. Roughly shaking her to get her to wake, he cursed again this time louder.

The barrier had been a good idea when everything was safe, but now it was foolish. She had completely wasted her energy, and all for a silent night's sleep. _Well who said Bishop was a nice guy…_He opened the pouch at his side and pulled a strong smelling liquid bottle and uncorked the cap.

Grimacing at the stench he grinned and stuck the potion under the elf's nose. Silently laughing at the look on Kaya's face as she was forcibly and unhappily awoken from a rather deep sleep, she squinted up through narrowed eyes.

"Morning sunshine, its time that you woke up and took a look around." Putting the cork back on the top, Bishop set the bottle back into his pouch and went back to crouch near the entrance of the little dome she had created.

Kaya rubbed the sleep from her eyes and glared at the ranger who sat a little ways away from her. _Smart_ she thought _if he was any closer I would shove my rapier through his gut_. Groaning at her aching muscles, she took a look around her.

Everything was how she left it, except for the man now squatting across from her. Stiffly she stood up and strapped her twin swords at her belt and strapped her cloak on (the fire had died out and she was beginning to feel the cold air that came with night.)

She walked over to the now silent Bishop and continued to glare at him until he looked over at her. "What?" "Why are you here? I made it specifically clear that everyone was supposed to stay at the keep while I'm gone." Grinning that crooked grin of his, he shot her a look that seemed to say _Oh come on_.

Not taking the bait she continued to look at him until he grimaced and looked back out towards the forest. "Believe me I'm not here because I want to be. I would much rather be in a tavern drinking Sal's ale with a busty blond around my arm."

Flinching unconsciously Kaya looked at him skeptically, "That isn't telling me why you're here, just what you would rather be doing." "I don't need to tell you why I'm here, besides that's the least of your worries right now.

Be glad that I actually woke you up, or else you would be skewered through that flat stomach of yours." Turning to look back at her Bishop noticed that her eyes had widened slightly.

But the moment passed and a look of mere curiosity was thrown into his face. "Bandits I think, by the sound of them any ways. There is a wizard out there too, but I suspect you already know that." Kaya's eyes widened again and swiftly turned to look out into the trees.

She had been feeling something tug at the back of her mind when she woke up but she hadn't paid enough attention to it now until Bishop had sad something. Sure enough there was a presence out in the night that wasn't something she wanted to encounter during the day either.

"It's not a wizard, it's a pale master, I would recognize that aura any where." Turning back to Bishop who was giving her a slightly amazed look she said "Is that the reason why you woke me up?"

The ranger turned his head sharply but not before Kaya noticed a slight rise of color in his cheeks. Gruffly he mumbled that he just didn't want to see someone who could actually fight get stabbed in the back without knowing it.

She smiled at his remark and nodded to herself. "Okay then what about the others? They didn't follow right?" "No" A single word, no other answer.

Sighing, the elf turned back to the woods and felt the pale master coming closer to where they were. She was now extremely glad that she had created the dome since it was the only reason at the moment that kept them from finding the two.

But it wouldn't last long enough for her to catch up on some of her sapping mana. Pulling her swords from their scabbards she mustered the remaining strength she had before glancing over at Bishop. He had already strung his bow, and had his eye trained on a figure in the near distance.

_So they are closer than I thought, I wish I would have had more time._ Bishop's attention flickered from the image he was trained on and flicked over to the women crouching beside him when he heard a sigh. She looks unbelievably tired, he thought.

Hearing a twig snap to his left, he moved his foot and lightly tapped hers. Motioning with his head he pointed her attention to the coming danger. She shot a look at him almost as to say _Idiot, I already knew_ and shifted her grip on her swords.

Grinning at her he moved his eyes back onto the moving targets. He let loose two arrows into one of the men in a matter of a few minutes, and another three into his partner next to him.

Both dropped as their life was taken. The other two bandit's head shot up and stared in their direction. He heard them shout and point to where they crouched and he strung another arrow into his bow, this time muttering a spell under his breath and was satisfied when he saw the tip of the arrow drip acid.

He was about to loose the arrow into the next mans chest when he felt the air grow cold and the elf next to him shiver noticeably. Confused Bishop looked at Kaya and was concerned to see fear in her eyes.

Again even more confused than he was before, he followed her line of sight, and paled. Directly in front of the warlock stood the pale master, or what was left of him. The man looked like an elf but Bishop couldn't be sure since half his face was pure white bone and the other covered with a mask.

He/It raised his arm and pointed to Kaylin and in a voice that dripped frost chanted his spell. Kaya froze and struggled to her feet. Her mouth in a tight line, it took everything she had in her power to fight the urge to stop her heart and lay down to never breath again.

Luckily she had noticed what spell it was and muttering under her breath she chanted the counter spell used when faced with the finger of death. Sweat popped out on her forehead and Bishop hoped that Kaya would be okay before he turned to the remaining two bandits.

They had used the lapse in time that Bishop had used to watch Kaya and were at least an arms breath away from the young warlock. Swearing at his own stupidity he loosed the poison arrow and smiled in satisfaction as he watched it go through the skinny man's neck.

The other man stopped and stared down at his companion before roaring and charging towards Bishop. _Shit, didn't think he would react so fast._ Standing up Bishop backed away quickly and put his bow away. Drawing the long sword he used, he stopped and faced his opponent.

The man was a barbarian; that much Bishop was sure of and he knew that he would have the upper hand in this particular fight as long as he worked to tire the muscular man.

Swallowing the bile that suddenly rose in his throat; he took a quick look at Kaya and sucked in his breath. She had recovered from the spell, and was beginning to advance towards three freshly risen corpses. Itching to go over and help, he knew that it would be any good for her seeing as Bishop had yet to deal with this bandit first.

_Okay, she is a warlock. She will be fine…_ Turning back to his own fight he just barely managed to dodge the mighty swing of the barbarian's axe. Stumbling, trying to find a foothold in the wet grass beneath his feet, he brought his sword up and under in order to get the man to end his frenzy.

But it didn't work, the man swung his own axe and clipped the side of Bishop's sword and flung it into the ground next to the nearest tree.

Clenching his teeth in irritation, Bishop pulled out his kuriki and dagger. Hefting them in his hands so that they fit comfortably, he eyed his opponent trying to gauge his next move.

With a shriek, the man took a mighty swing of his axe and brought it down towards Bishop's head. Rolling away, Bishop noticed his chance and plunged his dagger into the chest of the barbarian, pushing until he hit bone.

When he heard the scratch he was satisfied that it would slow the big man enough to be able to deal a death blow and Bishop pulled free his blade and tumbled to his side.

The man grunted and dropped his axe clutching his side. Shaking his head, as if to clear his eyes of fog, he dropped his arm and lifted his axe from the ground and hefted it against his back.

He turned to face Bishop again but instead of plunging forward like the past couple of times, Bishop noticed that he wielded the axe as if to throw it…ducking just in time, he felt the scrap the head of the axe dealt on his back.

Looking towards the barbarian he saw that the blow that he had dealt must have hit an artery because the man was now laying face first on the ground.

Breathing a sigh of relief Bishop flexed his shoulder and felt the burn of his wound. Remembering where he was he turned towards the sound of battle opposite where he stood.

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Kaya pushed back against the swords of two undead making them stumble on their dead legs. Seeing the opportunity to put the two to their final rest, she pulled her rapier free from the tangle and swiped it across the heads of both zombies.

While she freed her other sword, she watched as the two fell down to the ground and wiped it on the side of her pants. Groaning she looked at the multiple undead bodies surrounding her as she picked her way towards the pale master that stood a little farther off from the carnage.

Shifting her blades so that she had a better grip on the two of them she began to run before the undead master decided to call forth another group of living dead. Pulling on the last of her strength she called forth her eldritch blast and aimed it towards the middle of Its chest.

But it merely bounced off and ricocheted back towards her. Absorbing her blast, she sent another towards his casting arm so that she could delay him enough to get close.

Putting her own weight through her arm she tried one last spell, letting her swords flame with eldritch power. Raising her arm up she slashed down towards the master's left arm and sliced through, allowing her other sword arm to thrust forward and jab the undead elf through his stomach.

But instead of the clean slice of flesh she encountered resistance and her head shot up to look at the evil smirk the pale master gave her. Stumbling backwards she tried to regain her balance but failed and ended up on her butt staring up at the figure of the elf.

Grunting she lifted herself up from the ground and struck another fighting pose waiting for the pale master to make his next move. But he didn't, he just gave her another evil smile and pointed behind her.

Swiveling to look at where he had pointed she was thrown back by a blast of energy, vaguely she stared at the demon servant she thought wasn't there.

She was too tired for this kind of thing. Again grunting with the effort of trying to focus on the being before her, she threw with the last of her strength her rapier through the demons throat.

Smiling in satisfaction that the demon was gone and that Bishop would be able to finish off the pale master with one of his well aimed arrows, she felt her body collapse upon itself.

The last thought that she had was too bad she had never really talked to Bishop about anything of consequence.

A/N ohhh a cliffy! Next chapter: nursing back to health and some fluff!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Bishop had just picked up his bow in order to help Kaya out when he heard the pale master speak. Right behind the elf maid was a demon that he had never seen before, and one he wasn't entirely sure she could handle.

Notching an arrow in his bow he aimed straight at the demon's head hoping to plunge through the other side and at least give Kaya a fighting chance against the pale master before her. But he was too late. Too late in loosing his arrow, too late is shouting the warning on his lips, too late to hit the demon before he hit her and too late to catch her as she fell.

Furious beyond belief now, he re-aimed his arrow again at the demon but stopped as he saw the women raise her arm and throw her sword straight through the demons neck.

It hit dead on; the demon didn't even have time to finish the chant coming from his mouth; almost as if the blade had stopped the words at the base of his throat.

He watched mesmerized as the demon toppled over and burst into flames. Remembering why he had knocked the arrow in the first place, he shifted his amazed gaze to the elf lying on the forest ground.

She had smiled a cocky grin briefly before her eyes sought his. Bishop widened his eyes at what he saw. She was asking him, _asking_ him to finish what she had started, to help her. She had never in his entire time with her sought his specific help in anything, and now she was pleading with him to help her out of the situation that was before her.

Nodding his head to show that he understood, he watched again, unable to do anything, as the elf collapsed in a bleeding heap. Gritting his teeth at the sudden rage that filled him, he aimed his arrow yet again at the pale master and let loose.

The pale master had been too busy watching the women's life blood flow out of her body to notice her companion. Too late. The arrow pierced what was left of his heart and without a sound the death mage collapsed into a mound of clothing and dust. Throwing the bow on the ground he darted to where the knight captain had collapsed and took in what her situation was.

Her skin was deathly pale almost as if all the blood had left her body…_wait it was…damn that demon wasn't kidding when he threw that ball of electricity at her. _Wincing with sympathy he decided that moving her was not the best option right now.

But the camp was too far away, and he had to get rid of the decaying bodies around her or the wound would become worse than it already was. Clenching his jaw he ran over to grab her fur blanket that lay on the ground and rushed back to the unconscious elf.

As gently as he could, he pulled her onto the furs and began dragging her to another clear space out of the way of decaying bodies. Each time he accidentally hit a stone underneath the blankets she moaned and turned her head, which was a good sign.

It meant that she was still somewhat alive and that was the best he could hope for. Finally at a spot that he could work with, he placed her gently down on the wet grass and ran over to where his pack lay discarded.

Throwing it and her own pack (_maybe she had something that would be able to help)_ on to his shoulder he made his way back to Kaya. When he got next to her he noticed with concern that she had gotten even paler, if that was possible.

Hurrying to open the packs he poured the contents out and rifled through the litter that was now on the ground. He closed his fingers over the bottle of heal and thanked the gods that she was a cautious traveler.

Popping the lid off he poured some of the liquid over the wound, and grimaced at what he saw. The wound was at least 3 inches radius and looked as if someone had taken a torch and plunged it into Kaya's chest.

It was leaking blood like nothing he had ever seen before and that's saying something when he has hacked off limbs and shot arrows through major arteries. This told him that it wasn't a normal wound and would need at least a strong healing spell…_at least a strong potion would do something in the meantime_.

While he watched as some of the potion took effect he glanced up at her face and let some of the breath that he was holding out in a long sigh. She was looking better…well not better but there was finally color coming back to her cheeks.

Noticing that the potion could only do so much for the outside of the wound he needed to get the liquid into her system. Frowning he realized without her conscious she would not be able to intentionally swallow the liquid, now she would not only choke on it but it would never reach where she needed it most.

Bishop looked from the bottle, to her wound and back up to her lips and then repeated the whole process again. Then his eyes then remained fixed on her lips.

_I'm doing this because she might die if I don't…right? I mean I don't want to otherwise…but she might die…it's not like I __**want**__ to do it…she will die…I could just wait till she wakes up……………_Shaking his head violently to get rid of the voices that decided to enter his thoughts he took one final look at Kaya's wound and gripped the bottle tighter.

He was decided, he couldn't let her suffer just because he was an idiot and acting like a moon struck teenager. Gripping the bottle tighter he poured the potion in to his mouth and held it there in a small pocket near his cheek.

Tilting his head to the side, he moved closer to Kaya's face and stopped as he stared down at the pale elf. _She is really beautiful, so pristine and almost ethereally flawless. _ Shaking his head for the second time he wondered how he could have thought that.

She was an elf, someone totally different from himself, someone who was absolutely untouchable. Especially since she was technically his leader, though he would never tell her that.

Staring at the ground next to her ear, Bishop aimed his mouth so that it was over the top of hers and pushed down. Opening her lips so that he could push the potion through her teeth, he pushed harder so that her unconscious mind had to respond.

Pulling back he watched satisfied that the liquid was being swallowed. Bishop let out the breath that he didn't know he had been holding and sat back on his heels to stare at her wound.

The potion was taking affect but not to the extent that he had hoped. The gash was bigger and deeper than he had originally thought; she was going to need rest, and a lot of it.

He watched slightly amazed as the sinew of her muscles knit back together leaving a shallow gash that would need to be wrapped and set with herbs to heal the rest of the way properly.

The one thing that he was truly worried about at this moment was infection; he hoped the blast hadn't contained any poison since he wouldn't know until it was too late. Turning he looked around for the clean strips of cloth he knew she always carried with her and spotted them a little a ways from where he sat.

Rising to his feet he slowly made his way over and began to tear the strips in half, length ways. Walking back to where Kaya slept he knelt again and began to dress her wound, adding certain herbs from a pouch at his side.

Satisfied that there was nothing left he could do for her; he took in his surroundings again. About seven bodies old and new lay around her makeshift camp including the remains of the pale master.

Grimacing at what he knew he had to do next he rose and walked towards the nearest body. This was one of the bandits he had killed at the beginning of the conflict and he knew that there might be something useful on his person.

Sifting through the pouches and pocket of the bandit took little time; he found a cure-all potion and a small bag of gold coins, lifting the arms of the man he dragged him to the farthest edge of their clearing that he could.

After depositing the corpse near the tree he quickly made small work of the other bodies, grimacing in distaste and smell of the undead left-overs that he was forced to drag piece by piece (the bodies had decayed further and when he pulled on the arms or legs they snapped off) nodding to himself when his task was complete.

Looking at the ground again he searched for his bow that he had dropped in his haste to help Kaya, seeing it he picked it up and notched an arrow. Muttering another spell under his breath, he watched as the arrow burst into flames.

Aiming for the piece of cloth he had drenched in wood oil, he loosed the arrow and smiled as he watched the fire consume what was left of the bodies. Turning from the scene Bishop made his way back to where Kaya slept and glanced around for sticks of some sort.

Shaking his head and glancing worriedly back at Kaya; Bishop decided that he would be better off picking up the dry timber that he had passed on the way here.

Whistling a sharp, shrill note from his teeth; he cocked his head to the side listening intently for the padding of paws he was sure would follow the call. Just as he had suspected, he turned around and was confronted by his wolf Kanwyr's bounding leap up to his chest.

Chuckling to himself he patted the dogs head and motioned that he stays with the elf while he went to gather the wood. Pulling his ears flat against his head Kanwyr trotted over, Bishop watched as the companion began sniffing around her face.

Smiling again Bishop turned and headed over to his pack and lifted it to his shoulder. Hearing a small whimper coming from where Kaya lay, Bishop turned his head sharply just in time to see Kanwyr's tongue flick out and lick the side of the elf's face before lying down close to her side.

Slightly surprised with the dogs behavior Bishop took a step forward but stopped. Between the blazing bonfire far to the left and the wolf, Kaya would be fine until he gathered enough wood to build a small fire for the two of them.

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Kaya groaned and shook her head. Lifting her eyelids a little she peered around her and quickly shut her eyes again. She had looked straight into the fire near her left and the bright light had seared her retinas leaving an inky black dot moving through her line of vision.

Shifting her back so that she could become slightly more comfortable on her bed roll, she winced when she felt a sharp burning near her stomach.

Squeezing her eyes tighter she moved her hand slightly to poke the burning area and gasped as she felt an even sharper pain erupt through the area she had just poked. _Bad idea_ she thought.

Deciding that she would be better off not moving at all, she tried to think back to what had put her into her current predicament. _I was sleeping after creating that bubble…Bishop's face and that awful smelling thing he had stuffed near my face…wait…Bishop? What was he doing here? _

Kaya tried to think back to why she had memories of the ranger and decided that she was better off leaving that for later; at least until she figured out why her side was throbbing. _Okay, after that…_A disgusting face loomed near her consciousness so she pulled it forward. Undead…_why was there an undead being here? _

She thought quickly about the prospect of a dream maybe but she had to admit that if there was a non living ghoul involved then it might explain her injured side.

But that wasn't right and she knew it, there was something more…something important that she was missing. And then it hit her.

Flashback: _**Swiveling to look at where he had pointed she was thrown back by a blast of energy, vaguely she stared at the demon servant she had thought wasn't there. **_

_**She was too tired for this kind of thing. Again grunting with the effort of trying to focus on the being before her, she threw with the last of her strength her rapier through the demons throat. **_

_**Smiling in satisfaction that the demon was gone and that Bishop would be able to finish off the pale master with one of his well aimed arrows, she felt her body collapse upon itself.**_

She grimaced as the memory came fast and hard leaving no single detail out. _Well that explained a lot…but not why I had thought of Bishop. _Cautiously opening her eyes to slits she looked around her new surroundings.

She was in the grass…and it was somewhere between late night and early morning by the look of the stars above. The fire had burned low but still was giving off little waves of heat; for which she was grateful.

Shifting again so that she would be able to look to her sides, she grimaced at the pain lancing through her mid section. To her right a wolf had made its way into the camp and had plopped down neat her blankets.

The fur was shiny silver and white that looked as if it was well taken care of and the tail had a dash of red near the tip. _Wait red? I know that tail…Kanwyr? And that would mean…_ swiftly she whipped her head to her left and saw the bundle of furs and shapes near the fire.

The furs were thrown messily over the body of a male with chestnut colored hair who was turned away from where she lay. Groaning her mind tried to think of the implication of the situation that she had thought was almost impossible.

_Bishop was here…in her camp…near her…with Kanwyr…in the middle of the forest…on her quest… in the middle of the forest…with her…by themselves…alone…oh no._

Sitting straight up, she reached for her pack that she had hoped was next to her and froze. The pain had reached a pinnacle, and she let out a loud whimper. Closing her eyes she counted to twenty and opened them again.

Sitting in front of her was a now awake Kanwyr who looked extremely disgruntled with her for getting up. The wolf took a few steps over to her and put his front legs on her shoulder and pushed hard.

Surprised Kaya plopped down on to her bad roll once again and closed her eyes. She felt the dog move close to her uninjured side and stretch out so that he was laying length ways across her outstretched arm. Smiling again she moved her other hand to rub the companion's head and slowly drifted asleep, feeling the warmth from the wolf flow into her.

Hearing the whimper coming from the bed roll next to him, Bishop shot up franticly as he watched the elf sit up.

Moving his arm over his furs so that he could go and help her, he stopped midway as he watched Kanwyr pad over to her and stick his nose in her face. Alarmed that the wolf had ideas that Kaya probably wouldn't be able to handle in her current situation, Bishop threw his blankets to the side and stood up.

But he was forced to reassess the scene before him as he again watched the dog push Kaya back to her laying position and curl up on her left over the top of her arm. Visibly relaxing he sat back on his bed roll and gazed at the image the two made.

She had a very content smile on her lips in her sleep that even made its way through the pain he knew she felt. Smiling again he turned back to his pet and noticed the golden eyes were fixed on his master. Bishop grinned and watched as the wolf stuck his tongue out.

Slightly taken aback by this action he shot the dog a look and turned his back on the two, pulling his furs up around his body.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Kaya woke again to the sound of birds chirping in the not so far distance. Groaning as she remembered the events of the past few days, she poked her abdomen again and flinched. The pain wasn't that bad, at least compared to the last time she touched it.

Gradually moving into a sitting position she gazed at her surroundings. Kanwyr was no longer lying near her bed roll; she figured he had left to go and hunt some food. Looking sideways she noticed that Bishop was gone too.

Pushing herself into an almost standing position she took a look at herself. _Gross, since when do I ever let myself go un-bathed longer than a day? _Closing her eyes she wondered how long she had been sleeping… "Three days." Startled Kaya turned her whole body quickly to look at the ranger behind her.

Almost as if he read her mind, he grinned, flashing her a wicked look. Without realizing it she blushed and then with a look of utter pain she fell back down on the bed roll. Bishop was at her side within seconds hissing between his teeth.

"Watch it you idiot, that gash is worse than you think." She glanced at his face again and was surprised to see a worried edge to his scowling mouth. "Sorry" she mumbled and grimaced again when a new shot of pain pushed its way through her middle.

She watched as Bishop got to his feet and walked over to the bag that he had dropped when she had fallen. Interested she looked pointedly at the bag and then back up to Bishop. Noticing her glance he gestured to the bag and back to her.

"Thought you might want a bath when you woke up, so I walked to the nearest village last night and grabbed a couple of things. Besides we were running out of food."

Kaya looked at the bag Bishop had thrown near her other pack and blushed again. Holding her hand up to her face she grimaced for an entirely different reason than the gash on her side. _You'd think I was a little girl again with how many times I blush in front of this man._

Scowling at the thought she picked up her pack and searched through it until she found what she was looking for. Pulling out the little bar of soap she always carried with her she threw it into the bag Bishop had given her and motioned the ranger to give her a hand. Using Bishops shoulder as her anchor, she pulled herself into a standing position and grabbing the bag walked over to the nearest tree to lean against.

She watched as Bishop worked to scatter the remaining ashes of their fire and pick up his bed roll to put it back into his pack. She noticed that he had stopped and was staring at her. Blushing again she looked quizzically at him.

"Do you need my help or are you okay by yourself? I mean by all means invite me but I might not be able to hold back…" Kaya blushed even darker if it was possible and scowled at the ranger. "I'm perfectly capable of handling this myself thank you."

Turning she hobbled towards where she heard the river and muttered under her breath an audible _jerk_. When she had said it she perked her ears and was rewarded when she heard a sharp bark of laughter from the opposite direction and smiled.

Trudging a little faster she reached the river bank quickly and set the bag down on the ground and emptied its contents. Frowning she picked up a green robe and ran her fingers through the fabric. It was a soft material, most likely silk, and looked expensive.

On the sleeves and neck piece she noticed that little runes had been stitched into the fabric and looked as if the creator had spelled the thread. Closing her eyes she felt the tug of her eldritch energy and smiled again.

The robe was spelled to help in the process of healing-a regenerative power. Smiling again she inclined her head towards the ranger at the camp and noticed that not only was this an act of kindness but a veiled insult at her ability to get hit with spells. Taking the cloth and placing it on a rock near the space she planned on washing up, then reached down and picked up the soap bar and towel, placing them near the robe.

Sitting down she began to peel off the layers of clothing until she stood with only her bandage left. Grimacing at the thought of taking the cloth off she began to unwrap the wrap and scrunched her nose up at the smell that floated up from the wound.

She made a face at the sight that greeted her when she pulled the last wrap off the wound. Smeared around the noticeable gash was a strong smelling herb mixture that was a dark green color and was mixed with the dry blood left over from the edges of the cut. Sniffing she contorted her face in to a semblance of revulsion and shuffled towards the edge of the water.

Astonished, she laughed as the cold water hit her foot and numbed it within seconds. It felt so good to feel the water on her skin that she was giddy for a bit. Pushing through the water until it rose about her collar bone, she glided across the water till she was standing in front of the rock she had placed her clothes on and grabbed the soap.

Quickly scrubbing away the dirt and grime of the past few days, she cringed when she neared the raw skin near the abrasion. Gritting her teeth she continued to scrub lightly cleaning the wound of herbs and leftover blood so that she could re-bandage it with clean wraps later.

After several minutes of cleansing it, she was satisfied that it wasn't going to get any cleaner than that. Walking through the water towards the river banks she stumbled a little bit and fell. Cursing she pushed herself up again and looked around the clearing to make sure no one saw her lose her balance.

Trudging back so the rocks and dry land, she grabbed her towel from the rock and began to dry off, avoiding her side. Gritting her teeth she then began to pat dry her side and let out a small squeak of pain. Grabbing the bag again she searched the rest of the contents until she found what she was looking for.

Scrunching the leaves of the plants, she placed the crumbles on and around the abrasion, hissing when it stung. Nodding to herself that it was a good job, she grabbed the clean wraps and bandaged the area. Glad that the hard part was finished she threw her undergarments on and fingered the cloth of the robe before placing it over her head.

Pulling her ankle high boots up and strapping her sword belt on, she was pleased, feeling better than she had in days though her abdomen still burned that crazy. Glancing at the old bandages, she narrowed her eyes and focused on the linen. The clothe burst into flames as she turned around to gather the remaining supplies and throwing them into the bag.

She breathed heavily and leaned to the left when she was finished and while she limped back to camp she searched for a long stick she could use to balance herself. No such luck but as she turned she felt a warm furry animal brush up against her leg and looked down.

There was Kanwyr gazing at her with an expression of almost human annoyance. Grunting, the wolf pushed his muzzle into her hand and bumped up against her again. Laughing she said "Okay, Okay I think I can take a hint." Putting her hand near the neck of the large dog she shifted her weight so that Kanwyr now bore the brunt of it (not that she weighed that much to begin with.)

Smiling down at the wolf they began to slowly make their way back to the camp.

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Bishop looked up from rolling her own bed roll up and frowned when he saw the elf and the wolf together. _Since when did the damn dog decide to tag along with her? _Narrowing his eyes his frown deepened when he noticed the wolf give him a look; almost as if he was laughing at his master. _Fine two can play game._

But the wolf was the last thing that was on Bishop's mind when he gazed at the elf. She was wearing the robe that he had given her and it looked great. It was tight fitting to her small figure and coordinated with her complexion and green eyes perfectly.

His eyes trailed from her face down to her legs where he noticed long slits on both sides of the fabric revealing the tops of her boots and black leggings underneath. It fit her well and he hoped that she liked what he picked out but he wasn't going to point that out, especially not to her.

He watched concerned as she limped towards him and squatted down. "Thanks for the robe; it will help a lot with the healing process…" Glancing over at her sharply he noticed that though she looked slightly more energetic than she had earlier, she was still pale and he guessed that washing the wound out had tired her considerably.

"Yeah well, didn't think you would want to walk around in your ruined leather armor. Besides it's not a gift, you owe me." _Shit that wasn't what I wanted to say…_ Glancing from the corner of his eye as he continued to wrap the furs up, he saw the hurt look turn on her face turn to suspicion. _Now comes the questions…_"What are you during here Bishop?"

"I thought I answered that before the battle." She narrowed her eyes at him and he continued knowing what she was going to say before she said it.

"I was hunting, away from that blasted keep when I noticed your camp. Came to take a look and realized it was you. Good thing I did too or you might have been walking around as that pale master's tool." He sneered at her and placed the finished furs at her feet in order for her to put them away.

It wasn't the entire truth, he had been out hunting later that day when he saw her leave the keep but he had continued to follow behind her. He wasn't sure why he did and he wasn't sure why he even lied to her now but he knew that she wouldn't like the idea of him following her all the way here.

Especially when he hadn't made an effort to even talk to her alone since that night. He heard her say something under her breath but chose to ignore it.

Moving over to his pack he pulled it up and over his shoulder so that it settled comfortably across his back and looked expectantly at the elf. She frowned and looked pointedly from her side to the pack and back again.

_Geez, I can see her father raised her to be a princess. _Keeping a straight face he walked over to her back and slung it over his shoulder next to his own pack. "Are you coming?" She glanced up from trying to lift herself from the ground and stared at him for a few seconds.

He let it register in her brain before being confronted by an irritated frown. "I was told to go alone, you shouldn't come with me, and I don't think I'll be able to get through to those bandits with you with me."

Giving her an exasperated look, he realized she hadn't come to the same conclusion he had. "Those men that attacked you…they were the bandits _hunny. _All you will find at that cave they were hiding at is their treasure of stolen possessions and maybe a journal of that mage if you're lucky.

You might want to find out if those Cloaks Kana has stationed there and see if they are alive or if they even realized that the bandits snuck passed them." She furrowed her eyebrows and shifted to watch Kanwyr paw at the ground. Slowly she looked back up at him and he saw that she had come up with a decision.

"Fine, come with me. But I'm not sure how the Grey Cloaks will take it when their captain arrives with a man who was not supposed to accompany her." Sighing she grabbed the fur on the wolf's back and pulled herself up and began to walk in the opposite direction of where she needed to. Laughing he called to her.

"Unless you intend to walk all the way back to Neverwinter you're not going to find your cave over that way." Laughing again when he saw her turn her head from him and the direction she was taking, then he saw her blush again and turn back to follow him.

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They had been walking for nearly an hour and Kaya knew that they should have been to the cave by now.

But she also knew that it was her fault for the delay; her injury kept flaring up whenever she stumbled or walked too fast. She was soon out of breath and in need of a break but she didn't want to tell Bishop that. Besides it's not as if she could, the ranger was walking briskly a few feet away from her and Kanwyr.

If she strained her ears she thought she could hear him muttering about something but she wasn't sure what and she wasn't about to ask.

Sighing again she glanced at her surroundings. They had just begun to walk on the path that would lead them to their destination and the ground was softer under her feet so it wasn't too bad walking. But every time she put her foot on the ground in front of her the slight impact sent a sharp jarring up her side, as if to remind her that she was injured. Not that she needed any reminder.

But the robe was working and she knew that if she checked her bandages the gash wouldn't look nearly as bad as it had only a couple of hours ago.

She also knew that in her condition right now that she would be absolutely useless in a fight so she was loath to continue further towards the cave since if there was a fight Bishop would have to take the brunt of the attack himself and if they were, she would never hear the end of it.

Letting her breath out slowly she took another step and felt movement at her side and stopped. Wobbling at the loss of support, Kaya watched as Kanwyr lopped up to bishop and tugged on his tunic.

Bishop stopped and stared at the dog as if to ask him a question, then turned back to look at Kaya. She saw him grimace and start to walk toward her. Looking down at herself hoping there wasn't anything wrong that she hadn't picked up on she glanced back up at Bishop who was now only a couple of inches away from her.

"What?" He looked straight at her sweat streaked face and down to her wound. "Why didn't you say anything?" Surprised she stared back at him looking for signs of a taunt but she only saw blank eyes on a blank face.

Blinking she replied that she didn't need to rest that it was nothing. She saw him frown and motion to a stump nearby and ordered her to sit while he looked for the water skins he kept at his side.

Shuffling over to the stump she plopped down with a soft sigh and took the skin that Bishop held out to her. She hadn't realized how thirsty she really was until the water hit her tongue and she drank eagerly.

After a long gulp of the clear water she handed it back to the ranger who took a swig of the water himself. Leaning her head back on her shoulders she closed her eyes. Her thoughts roamed over the ranger and she realized with amusement that he wasn't fighting with her for once.

On the contrary, the entire time she was with him he was nothing but civil if a little cold towards her. He was more than accommodating when it came to her injury and he had shown surprisingly plenty of concern towards her and her health.

Shaking her head at her thoughts she opened her eyes and looked straight into those of the person she had been thinking about. The amber orbs were warm for some reason and he looked like he had been watching her since he took that last drink.

Blushing again she looked away towards the wolf and laughed softly at what she saw. The large canine was acting like a little puppy, bugging his master to gain his attention. She was relieved when she saw that Bishop had taken his eyes off from her and returned them to the dog at his feet. Kaya looked surprised when the first real smile graced the rangers face as he gazed down at his companion.

A pang of jealousy towards the dog took over her and she stopped taken aback by the feeling. _Jealousy? Because of the wolf? No way! I don't look at Bishop like that and I certainly don't think about him as anything but a travel companion. Nothing more…right?_ Confused she put those thoughts to the back of her head and promised to give them more thought later and watched as Bishop played with the pet.

Closing her eyes again she began drifting off to sleep until she felt a tug on her sleeve and opened her eyes to look at Kanwyr as he pulled on her sleeve. Shaking the sleep fog from her mind she saw that at least an hour had gone by while she had slept and that Bishop was no longer in sight.

Getting stiffly to her feet, she placed her hand on the wolf and followed as the dog began padding down the path next to her. _Apparently Kanwyr knows where we are going._

They had been walking like this in silence; Kaya gazing at the wildlife that occasionally crossed their path and Kanwyr lopping along with his tongue out, eyes darting from place to place as if in search of something or something.

The wolf gave a loud yip of excitement and Kaya turned to look at Bishop trotting towards them. Without realizing it she let out a breath she hadn't known she had been holding until the ranger showed up and gazed questioningly at him.

"The camp is just over the corner, I have been explaining the situation to the remaining Grey Cloaks there. Though to tell you the truth they didn't look happy about me being there in the first place."

Kaya muttered a small _I wonder why_ at that statement and continued listening to him. "They said the bandits haven't come out of their exit for days, at least not since they asked for you. So I'm guessing that they had a back exit that they were able to sneak out of without the Cloaks knowing about it."

He sneered "Not that they would have realized it if they had walked through the front door. Anyways they were told to wait until you checked the cave out before going back to their patrols but they first insisted on accompanying you."

She groaned at the thought of walking back to the keep with chatty over fawning soldiers that practically worshipped the ground she set foot on (not her intentions at all there.) And looked at Bishop through half lidded eyes hoping that he got the hint. Walking with a silent Bishop the entire way back would be more preferable than with that group, and she was willing to admit that.

She smiled when she saw Bishop smirk and knew that he understood. "That's what I thought, I took the liberty of telling them that you were fine with me, they took that rather skeptically by the way, and that they should head out to continue their patrols and report to Kana about the bandits. But they insisted on seeing you before they left so they are waiting for you at their camp near the cave."

Kaya's eyes widened slightly and she was forced to look at Bishop in another light than the one she had been before. This man actually understood human emotions sometimes, not to mention that, that was the most he had said to her all day. Plus he had willingly (if a little scathing) interacted with other humans with her in mind.

A/N: Sorry for the wait, im not sure when the next one will be up since I have finals all next week and then its back home to the parents till the next semester. But I am pretty sure it will be this month…or next but deff between then and now! Haha Review please-help me think of a few good plot lines!


	6. Chapter 6

~Don't own anything but the my character that I created in the game…..credit goes to the amazing people who created NeverWinter Nights 2.

Sorry for the Wait!

Chapter 6

Sighing, Bishop looked over at the warlock walking near him. She was laughing at Kanwyr's antics and the sound was leaving him in a worse state than he had been before. He didn't understand what it was about the woman who knelt in front of him, but whenever she was around he lost whatever sense of icy exterior he tried to put up.

He scowled and turned his head to glance at the grey cloak camp slowly coming into focus in front of them. The soldiers were there; he could see bits of their cloaks drift across the trunks of the trees they were hiding behind. Not well, but that might have seemed condescending since he was a master ranger.

Smirking he turned back to the warlock and nudged her foot to get her attention. When he saw her turn her head to look up at him; he jerked his head towards the camp and saw her smile when she noticed the hiding cloaks. Nodding that she understood, she patted the wolf's head before continuing to walk towards them. Bishop lingered on the path before adjusting his pack over his shoulder and following her.

She wasn't much of a strategist even for a knight, but she could tell that the encampment the Grey Cloaks had set up was too out in the open to keep away unwanted attention. They could have just nailed a wooden sign near the road that pointed the way straight to them.

Kaya scowled at the thought and turned her attention to counting how many cloaks she could see poking out from behind the trees Bishop had pointed out. _Even worse; I'm not a damn ranger and certainly not a rogue but I can definitely find found a better hiding spot…it's like they want to be shot at with arrows and spells. _She frowned in thought before looking behind her at the actual ranger and gave him a lazy smile.

If she wasn't their Knight Captain she would have showed them exactly what was wrong with their camp. When she was in front of the nearest tree/hiding spot, she yelled for the person in charge. Still frowning, she watched as a somewhat pudgy man in chain mail and the common cloak that signified the order he belonged to, ran from behind a tree to her left. She waited for the man to catch his breath before motioning with her hand to encompass the camp and the men in front of her.

"What's all this, George?" The little man looked shocked that she even knew his name but when he glanced up at his superior's face he flinched and waited for her to continue. "Are you trying to get your men attacked?" There was a grunt of agreement from behind her and she watched the man's scared eyes glance from her to Bishop and then back again.

Kaya gritted her teeth in pain as another spasm wrenched through her middle but stayed straight still waiting for the man to explain himself. The only person who noticed the Knight Captain's discomfort was the man behind her and she hoped he would be smart enough to not bring it up in front of the men; a sign of weakness she didn't want to show, at least not when she was trying to look intimidating.

"Umm…we was wait'n for you Sir…I mean M'am. The ranger, there, told us that you was coming so we didn't think to set up any precaution; figurin that you would be here sooner." She scowled down at the disgusting pig in front of her who was pretty much groveling at her feet in an act of servitude or gratitude…she wasn't sure which. She wondered briefly how such a man like this had risen in the ranks…especially with Kana training them, but she didn't say anything.

She would talk to Kana when she took care of the business she had here with the cave. "No one has been in the cave right?" He shook his head still looking behind her at the figure of the wolf at Bishop's side. "And no one has come out?" Again she watched as he shook his head. "Well I guess there isn't anything left to do but go through the remains. You men need not be here while I look, so I'm ordering you to head back to the keep and report what you know to Sergeant Kana."

The man tore his eyes off from Kanwyr and locked onto to hers for a brief second before turning his head to look back at his men. She grimaced and asked the question the man had hoped she would ask. "Is there something else?" The small man leaned disgustingly closer and whispered under his breath so that she would be able to hear,

"We was wonderin if you wanted us to keep an eye on the ranger there in case anythin' goes wrong?" She pulled away sharply and turned to look at Bishop who was watching the little man crossly. Kaya grit her teeth against another stab of pain; she didn't have the energy to play games with this man. "Was that a direct question to my order?"

The man looked shocked and guilty at her question and pulled himself up to bring a hand to his forehead and back in a gesture of subservience. "No M'am. We will return to the keep as you ordered. The men here were thinkin on getting a few tankards at Sal's anyways."

He grinned suggestively at her as if they shared a secret but was disappointed when she didn't respond. "We will be leavin now Captain, good luck with them bandits in that cave." She nodded and closed her eyes wishing that they would just leave before she opened them again. She stayed still like that bearing the pain in her side, as she waited for the thirty-odd men to get into formation and take off down the trial behind her.

She shakily opened her eyes before putting a hand on her side and bending her knees, sliding down into the grass beneath her. Bishop was there holding her elbow before her knee even hit the ground and she felt him gently pull her up to lean against him.

"You alright there Captain?" Kaya scowled and swatted his arm that held her annoyingly. "Don't call me captain, you remind me off that pig and he isn't worth remembering." She felt him chuckle as she leaned against him, but before he could say anything she pushed herself gently away from him and began walking in the direction the cave lay.

She could feel him at her side keeping perfect pace with her half steps and was glad, not for the first time since she had left on this mission that he was there with her. She stopped again when they reached the crude doorway that was the entrance into the former pale master's hide out and brushed her fingers along the wood whispering counter spells to whatever trap lay beneath it.

When she took her hand away, sweat beaded her forehead and she swayed threateningly towards Bishop's side before catching herself. "You ready?" Her eyes laughed as she looked at him and he smiled in return and took the opportunity to push open the door. She held herself back as he took a step in front of her into the darkness of the cave and waited until he motioned for her to follow.

The cave itself wasn't anything to be proud of; just a few wall hangings for the semblance of home and a couple of interesting weapon-racks that Bishop perused the first chance he got. They didn't have to fight much since they took out most of the bandits that night, but those that did stay behind fell to an arrow in the neck from Bishop's longbow. Kaya didn't help in the fighting since she was wiped out but she did manage to deflect a few of the nastier traps that they happened to step on while Bishop dismantled the others.

She was fairly surprised when they didn't meet much resistance but then again she was hoping they wouldn't…so she couldn't complain anyways. While Bishop was taking stock of what little the bandits did have, Kaya had immersed herself in the pale master's office; looking for whatever clue as to why they had attacked her. She wasn't looking for some intricate plan behind it all; just for a reason or a motive…if being the captain of Crossroads Keep wasn't enough.

She was looking at an old, worn out leather book when Bishop decided that he would make an appearance. She didn't turn away from the book she had her nose into so she didn't realize that Bishop had walked up behind where she was sitting, to lean over her shoulder…mere inches from the side of her face.

"What'ya got there?" She jumped; the back of her head coming in contact with his chin, and let out a yelp of pain. Kaya rubbed her now sore head while gesturing to the book she held in her other hand. "The master's journal; I'm trying to figure out some motive but so far the only thing I've come up with is that he is…or was…a really old elf." She laughed when she looked up at the ranger who had drifted over to the makeshift desk while she talked. He had poked his hand into one of the drawers and withdrawn a hand full of human toes.

He turned back to her showing off the toes as he did so and raised an eyebrow in question. She only laughed again in response and turned back to the journal, skimming the pages until she found one dated a few days ago. As her eyes roamed down the page she sucked in her breath through her mouth before letting it out with an annoyed puff. "It seems our deceased friend has a familiar acquaintance."

She looked up from the writing to stare at Bishop as he made his way over to her right and sat down on the rug she was currently using. "What do you mean?" Kaya turned back to the page and scanned down until she found the name she wanted and then held it up so that Bishop could see who she meant. His response was to only grunt in amusement, "So Garius contracted him."

She shook her head and pointed out another word in the writing. "They were friends…or as close as someone comes to being friends at the Host tower…it says here that Garius had asked him to take me out for him in return for a couple of fresh bodies from the academy, plus the bonus of keeping whatever was left of my body when he was through with me."

She grimaced in distaste and glanced around the small pocket/room they were seated in. There wasn't much decoration covering the walls but it seemed as if the half-dead elf had lived here for most of his stay in the sword coast. There was an old, almost rotted out, wooden bed in the corner and a couple of chests she had opened already near the corner of the wall. She hadn't found much for possessions except for the odd sock or aged black robes that were found lying around in piles on the floor.

"That explains why the bandits requested my appearance specifically, but I don't understand why he didn't attack me sooner…or why the elf didn't kill the cloaks and use them against me in the fight. I mean if I was the wizard then…that's what I would have done." She shifted her weight so that she could lean on her right arm, holding the other one close to her injured side. Bishop glanced down at her in worry but remained where he was sitting, now examining the journal himself.

"Well he was from the Host tower…he probably thought that you would be a piece of cake for him to take out. Most wizards from that place have enough arrogance to fill up the tower itself…Sand included." She chuckled at the mention of the other elven wizard in her companions. Kaya closed her eyes; her strength seemed to seep away from her every second of the day even though she could feel the healing properties of the robes Bishop had given her.

"Anyways there doesn't seem like there is anything else that can help us here so I suggest we make our way back to the keep. Unless there is something else?" She opened her eyes questioningly at Bishop but he only shook his head and offered her an arm up. She took the help gladly; it was a new thing that she had to become adjusted to around Bishop now: he offered help rarely but when he did it was usually for a good reason.

And she could probably guess why he was helping her now; she could feel the blood draining from her skin and she imagined that she looked just as pale as when she fell the other night. Between the stress her wound was causing to her body and the energy it had taken to perform multiple spells while she didn't have enough energy to even perform the simplest of spells had taken a toll on her strength.

Bishop still held her wrist as they made their way out of the small cave and she figured that he probably didn't trust her to faint. She smiled at his back, wondering why she had never seen this side of Bishop…even as long as she had known him he had always seemed as cold as the Luscan dogs who had hired him years ago.

But now she felt that she was finally getting a chance to glimpse the real Bishop; the ranger before everything happened to him, and the man he was before he became trained to kill. Kaya decided that, though she wasn't too thrilled with the idea of relying on someone else to do things she could have easily done n better condition, she was glad that she had gotten a chance to see this side of him. And she secretly thought that she was glad that it was Bishop here with her now and not one of the others.

a/n-this is pretty much a filler chapter…one of my writers block days! Next chapter will be out soon. Reviews please!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Kaya leaned her head on the nearest bookcase, trying to fight the headache that came whenever she had to deal with the squabbling between Sand and Qara. The two had discovered her little hideout in the library; a small corner near the farthest wall surrounded with books on all sides and her chair hidden in the center

. She sighed and glanced at Qara who was gesticulating wildly with her hands, yelling at whatever smart ass remark Sand had decided to throw at her…something about fire and what was left of her brain. The young warlock grimaced at the raised tones and determined enough was enough. "Guys! What did you need me for?" Both turned to look at her, thankfully shutting up whatever they were going to yell next, and stood with expressions of surprise.

_They forgot I was here…me and my big mouth. I could have snuck away without them even knowing about it. _She smiled at the image of herself sneaking away like she had seen Neeshka do on numerous accounts. Her smile was wiped off from her face when the image changed to Kaya falling into the books piled up; successfully alerting the attention of those she was trying to sneak away from.

It was the more realistic of the two images and Kaya had to laugh at herself for even thinking that she would be able to leave in the middle of the two spell castor's argument. She turned her attention back to the two in front of her and raised her eyebrow at Sand who was digging around in what Qara calls his "man purse".

"I caught our dear pyro trying to light the practice court in the keep on fire…for a _bit of fun._" That caught Kaya's attention, "You what!?!" Qara had the decency to look somewhat ashamed at her actions but then it was replaced with her usual haughty indignation. "Well you would have done the same…especially since we haven't done anything interesting in weeks. I have to use my spells regularly or they lose their power.

I don't have the luxury of having to study my spells in a book…not that I would want to anyways." Kaya noted that the last statement was directed more at Sand than at her but she still scowled at the sorceress' tone. "That is definitely not a reason to be setting fire to my keep. Unless…you would like to sleep outside with the animals." She glared for emphasis on her threat and Qara's mouth snapped shut with an audible crack. She turned to look at Sand who was pulling a flask of clear liquid from his pouch.

"Here, your medicine I created for that irritating wound on your side. Elanee seems to think that, though it's almost healed, you should take this to keep out any infections you might get. Besides I think it has something to do with fevers…" He trailed off in thought for a moment before shoving the bottle in her hands. He considered saying something to Qara but decided that with an annoyed Kaya there, it was better not to. He walked away but not without a lingering glare at the young sorceress and Qara quickly followed the elf to, no doubt, continue where they left off.

Kaya slumped further into the cushions of her chair and groaned loudly. Since she had gotten back a few days ago with Bishop, she had been unable to have a moments rest. When Elanee had taken one look at the hand Kaya had pressed to her wound, she had shrieked in her ear about going off alone and injuring herself. The paladin was right behind the elf, lecturing Kaya about how much trouble she could have avoided if only she had allowed him to come with her…even Khelgar had yelled at her, telling her that if she ever scared him again he would leave to become a monk for real.

No one even mentioned Bishop's presence; except Casavir who automatically assumed that he had just gotten back from whatever whore house he had decided to visit. She scowled darkly at the memory and tried not to think of ways that she would like to get rid of the presence of the self righteous paladin; without anyone knowing of course. It was now three days later and neither Casavir or Elanee had given her one moments peace; never letting her leave their sights; even at night Elanee had chosen to sleep in her rooms claiming that she would be able to protect her if something happened.

Not that anything has…Kaya wondered briefly why she even put up with those two. But even though she was being pestered where ever she turned, she hadn't seen nor spoken to Bishop since they had walked through the gate. As Elanee first began to flutter around her anxiously crowing over her wound, Kaya had looked over to see if the ranger was as amused as she was; but he was gone and she was left alone.

Since then she hasn't been able to say one word to him; not that it would have mattered since she could never find him anyways. She had even gone to his room in the keep the other night and knocked to get his attention, but he had either ignored her or he wasn't there at all. She sighed and fingered the handle of the vial she held in her hand considering if she should take it now or if she should wait until after she ate. Remembering that tonight was the night where Sal had his monthly roast beef dinner night, she smiled in anticipation and put the potion in her pocket; after dinner it was.

One day every month since Sal had opened the inn at Crossroads Keep he held a special dinner which everyone tended to get dressed up for. It had become sort of tradition and it worked as a way to get everyone's minds off from the King of Shadows and Black Garius. They usually ate, laughed and talked about anything but those two subjects while eating a good meal, and then Grobnar would take up his flute and play some music with the other local musicians and they would dance. Kaya smiled at the memory of the last one she had attended and decided that regardless of what she was feeling now, she would attend tonight, if only to have _a bit of fun_. In high spirits, she hopped off from her perch on her chair and made her way towards the bathing rooms near her own private rooms.

After a good 20 minutes soaking in the hot water, she wrapped a towel around her naked self, another twisted around her hair and headed towards her rooms, dodging whoever was in the hallways at the time. She turned and locked the heavy wooden door so that no one could walk in on her changing, before throwing her towel on her bed and grabbing her black silk undergarments, pulling them on. She knelt on the cold stone floor in front of her chest and unlocked it searching for the new clothing she had recently bought on the last trip to Never Winter city. Kaya smiled as she grabbed the pure white camisole and the burgundy over shirt and pulled each over her head.

She took out her soft black, kid leather pants and proceeded to pull them over her lean legs so that they fit snuggly against her skin. Before closing her chest, she stopped to look down at the contents, deciding on whether or not she wanted to wear the black silk corset she had bought to match the leggings. Smiling again she bent down and pulled the soft cloth out from her chest and slammed the lid closed. She threw the corset onto the bed and rummaged in another smaller chest near the first one, pulling out two black socks and her tan leather, knee high dress boots. Putting both the socks on and the boots, she picked up the corset and laced the front of the cloth tight so that it fit her flat stomach perfectly.

Kaya then walked over to the mirror near her bed and surveyed the results of her search. The red in the shirt and the black of the leather and corset seemed to bring out the black of the coal she had placed around her eyes; her dark green orbs smoldered as they stared at her reflection. Next she took the towel off from her hair and brushed out the long, soft brown hair so that when she let it fall, it bounced slightly curling with the weight.

Satisfied with her appearance, Kaya grabbed a couple of her smaller knives and attached them to the inside of her thighs and boots; she didn't like to be unarmed just in case something happened…even on a night of partying. She unlocked her door and was surprised when she saw that neither Elanee nor Casavir was standing outside of it guarding her room, but then she smiled thinking that they must be getting ready for the dinner too.

Making her way outside of the keep, she waved and nodded to who ever tried to catch her attention, pausing every now and then to speak to a gray cloak patrolman or a guard who wasn't able to join in on the festivities. Without even noticing it, her walk had brought her right up to the tavern doors where she could hear laughing and loud talk drifting through the cracks. She grinned, happy that her friends were enjoying themselves, and pushed it open revealing a warm lighted common room filled with friends and comrades.

Kaya nodded at the cheers that were called when people noticed she had come in and made her way over to Neeshka, Shandra and Elanee's table, waving to Sal for her meal. Neeshka whistled softly as she looked Kaya over, "Looks like someone is feeling better! Looking for some romantic action?" Elanee, who had been drinking her ale, sputtered at the last comment and turned to look at Kaya. "You aren't seriously going to have sex with someone tonight are you? I mean with your injury and everything…and then there's…" Shandra laughed at the elf's expression and motioned to some of the men in the tavern.

"I wouldn't worry too much about that…our captain here has pretty high standards for her men so I doubt that anyone would even come close to getting the chance to sleeping with her." Kaya smiled and glanced at the men Shandra had indicated. "Hmm I see what you mean…no one here that is interesting enough to suit me. Unless you count Sand as a good lay…" She looked pointedly at Elanee and the other two laughed when her face turned a bright pink. "Or if you like the paladin sitting in the corner…" Again she looked at one of her friends and it was Shandra's turn to blush a deep red at the mention of her crush.

Kaya laughed at their expressions and smiled as the serving girl placed a bowl of fresh beef stew and a small glass of red wine in front of the warlock. She happily dug into her meal; a good excuse to change the topic since her mind had kept going back to the face of a certain ranger she was having trouble forgetting.

Neeshka was the only one who noticed her friend grow quite and she had a good feeling that she knew why. She had seen the way the ranger had begun to look at Kaya and she had also seen the way her friend had started looking at him; not that they had seen much of each other over the past few days. For some reason, Bishop had taken to avoiding the captain whenever possible since they had gotten back and Neeshka thought she could guess the reasons why.

Kaya pushed her bowl away and watched as her friends called for Grobnar to play a merry tune since they wanted to dance. While Shandra and Neeshka bounced at the chance of dancing, Kaya and Elanee stayed seated; laughing at their friends antics. Kaya began to politely turn down offers and waited for Sand to come over and claim Elanee for the next dance.

She smiled and urged her friend to leave; telling her that she should go and have fun and not worry so much over her. Elanee had protested but with the help of Sand, Kaya had gotten the elf to leave and she was finally left by herself at the little table enjoying the night. She smiled when she saw that Neeshka and Shandra both had grabbed Casavir and Khelgar, dragging them into the middle of the tight group of dancers teaching them the steps to the song that was playing. She lifted her wine to her lips and sipped lightly at the drink; tasting the berries and cinnamon that Sal's wine was known for. "You don't dance, Captain?"

Surprised, Kaya watched as Bishop plopped down into the chair across from her, waiting for a reply. "I do, but right now I'm having more fun watching them." She gestured to her friends and took another sip of her drink. Bishop didn't say anything, just watched her. Suddenly uncomfortable, Kaya said the first thing that came to her mind, "Haven't seen you around lately." He only nodded and turned back to watch the dancers, "Been busy."

She didn't say anything else, opting for silence instead of conversation. She waved Sal's serving girl over to her and ordered another glass of the spiced wine and a tankard of ale for Bishop, smiling at him. He didn't say anything but he did offer her a rare smile. Encouraged, Kaya asked "Do you dance Bishop?" He looked rather surprised at her question before responding with a definite 'no'.

She smiled, intrigued "Is that a 'no I don't dance' or a 'no I can't dance'?" Bishop glared briefly at her and grimaced, "I can dance." Kaya laughed and shrugged "How am I supposed to know if that's the truth? I've never seen you dance here." He was looked slightly taken aback from her joking tone but he didn't say anything since the serving girl, Ali, had come back with their drinks. "You're supposed to take my word for it." Kaya didn't have enough time to respond to his remark since Neeshka had grabbed both her hands, pulling her out of her seat and into the throng of dancers.

She stopped for a brief second but when she turned back to look at Bishop he had left his chair and was nowhere to be seen. Slightly disappointed, Kaya turned back to the teifling, who was now staring at where she had been looking, and grabbed her hands and pulling her into the dance. She laughed, letting the thrill of the fast paced rhythm ignite the fire in her blood.

She had no idea how long she had been dancing, but when Neeshka excused herself claiming exhaustion Kaya was finally able to return to her seat. Her glass had been taken away and Ali saw to it that another, colder one had replaced it. As she sipped, she realized that the only ones left in the tavern were Sand and Elanee, who had moved to a corner table and were discussing something in quiet tones and a couple of village sweethearts dancing to the slow song.

She sighed and leaned back in her chair, thinking about the night's events. Somehow, Casavir had ended up leaving with Shandra and Kaya smiled knowing that he wouldn't just leave with her; he would be waking up in her bed in the morning. Khelgar had passed out from either exhaustion, ale, or a bar fight…Kaya hadn't paid enough attention to which and Kana was forced to drag the dead weight dwarf up to a room in the inn before she retired to the keep. The others had either given up and went home or decided to continue the party somewhere else since no one was at the inn any longer.

She sighed into her glass and looked around the inn again. The song playing was an old melody, one that they played sometimes back in West Harbor and she closed her eyes remembering the fun her and Bevil would have during the nights they were allowed to attend the parties his mother threw in their old barn. She was just about to get up when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Kaya looked up into Bishop's gold eyes and smiled in greeting, "Didn't think you were still here." The man didn't say anything but he put out his hand gesturing for her to take it.

Confused and curious, she placed her smaller hand in his large one and pulled herself out of her seat. He led her out onto the dance floor and placed her near him, holding her in a slow rhythmic dance. She was shocked at his actions but she controlled her emotions enough to relax somewhat into his embrace, swaying to the soft cadence of the lute and harp. She felt him pull his head down near her ear and whisper quietly, "Had to prove that I could dance."

She pulled back and looked into his laughing eyes and she smiled in return "Never did doubt you." Neither of them said anything, both enjoying the music and the warmth of the other's arms until they broke apart once the song had ended. She stilled, watching him as he walked over to her table and sat in the chair he had vacated earlier. _This is different…a different Bishop and a different feeling. _She couldn't help but feel a tug of her heart towards the person sitting in that chair, and that worried her more than anything.

This was Bishop…the ranger who only joined her group because her uncle had called in a debt, the man who criticized everything she did, the man who disliked following orders…the man who had unconsciously stolen her heart. _Wait…what?!_ She shook her head to get rid of the thoughts swirling around in it and walked over to her chair.

She sat, watching as Bishop took long gulps of his ale, while she sipped lightly at her own spiced wine. Neither said anything but they watched each other trying to see if something was there…not that either of them would allow that kind of emotion to come across their faces. It was a full seven minutes before Kaya decided to break the silence with an annoyed puff of breath. Confusing thoughts had been running around in her mind since she had let go of his hand after the dance and though she didn't want to make him uncomfortable…she had to know why he was suddenly changing his attitude towards her.

"Bishop…?" He lifted his head to stare at her but dropped it again to look at his drink. "I know what you're going to ask." She huffed again and asked, "Then why haven't you said anything? If you know what I want to ask you, why haven't you told me already?" He gave a dry laugh at her disgruntled tone and shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe I don't want to." Thoroughly annoyed at his words she slammed her drink on the table and stood up. "Well then, ranger. If you don't want to tell me, then I don't have much of a reason for being here, now do I?" She hiccupped slightly and stared down at the glass that was only half empty. Had she drunk too many glasses of the spiced wine? She shook her head again to clear out the empty thoughts running around and stared accusingly at the ranger. Maybe it was the wine talking or maybe it was the fact that she had finally, in that mille-second admitted to herself that she had fallen for the insufferable man in front of her. But she was more upset than she had been in a long time, and he had only said five words. "So you are going to act like it never happened?" She watched as he rose swiftly to his feet with a confused expression on his face, "What are you talking about, Kaya? Act like what never happened?"

Kaya suddenly felt very dizzy and decided that everything that was coming out of her mouth right now was definitely because of her drink. The not so drunk part of her mind was angrily yelling at her for being and sounding like a sobbing tavern wench…something she most certainly was not. She mumbled a soft 'nothing' before turning around and staggering towards the doorway of the inn. Once she could feel like fresh air around her she walked over to the huge double doors of her keep and pushed, hearing the grinding of the gears run as she opened them. Kaya listened for a few seconds to see if he had followed her but was disappointed when she didn't hear any foot steps behind her. She sighed and closed the doors behind her, letting the warmth of the great hall envelope her in her half drunken state. In the morning she was sure to regret everything…hell right now she regretted it. But the one comfort she wanted was the soft feather pillows of her bed beneath her and the gentle sound of the wind against her windows.


End file.
